David A. Teutsch is professor emeritus at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where he was president from 1993 to 2001 and the founding director of the Center for Jewish Ethics.
[4] He emphasized a major teaching of Mordecai Kaplan, founder of the Reconstructionist movement, was that it is both the right and responsibility of every Jew to reconstruct Judaism in their own time.
[6] While in that role, he coordinated the application and review process to earn a "fully accredited" grade from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
He highlighted that while some critics believed Reconstructionism would lose relevance as other Jewish movements adopted its innovations, the need for morally driven change would always persist.
Teutsch credited Reconstructionism's growth to its ability to meet the spiritual and intellectual needs of North American Jews within a democratic framework.
At the start of his presidency, RRC was in poor financial shape and some feared his corporate style might conflict with the institution's countercultural ethos.
[4] His expertise on Jewish perspectives of ethical considerations was often quoted in the press, e.g. the Terri Schiavo case,[10] Madoff investment scandal,[9] and Trump's inflammatory comments about minority groups.
[14] The high holiday "Prayerbook for the Days of Awe", published in 1999, introduced guided meditations, contemplative drawings, and poems by renowned poets such as Maya Angelou.